China pledges to wipe out ivory trade by end of 2017

China has pledged to shut down all trade in ivory by the end of 2017, a move that conservationists are hailing as a “game changer” for elephant conservation. The decision comes on the heels of years of mounting global pressure to stem the mass killings and threatened extinction of African elephants. (Poaching puts Asian elephants at risk, as well, albeit to a lesser extent.) “China’s announcement is a game changer for elephant conservation. The large-scale trade of ivory now faces its twilight years, and the future is brighter for wild elephants,” Carter Roberts, president and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund , said in a statement. “With the U.S. also ending its domestic ivory trade earlier this year, two of the largest ivory markets have taken action that will reverberate around the world.”